'It’s All About Your Topline' - Songwriting Competition

There are songs which can pull us through the most difficult times, with lyrics which fade into our dreams, helping us to accept life as it is. We feel connected to the artist and their experience and, although we might be far away, we no longer feel alone.

We spoke to some of our songwriter friends, including our Chief Creative Advisor Nile Rodgers, about their writing being a form of autotherapy, a process of accepting their own vulnerability. And collectively we decided to give you a unique opportunity to have a chance to work with them on your next track. We want to hear more good songs, created with the tools you have available to you right now. We want to hear you and we want you to be heard.

For the next seven days, we are inviting songwriters to record their originally written songs on Topline, our free songwriting app, and submit alongside their name, country and track title.

These submissions will then be shortlisted by a team of Abbey Road Studios engineers before moving onto a hand-picked a panel of judges, consisting of some of our closest songwriting collaborators and friends including our own Chief Creative Advisor Nile Rodgers and three of his favourite songwriters: Jamie Scott (One Direction, Rag’n’Bone Man, Rudimental & Jess Glynne), Giorgio Tuinfort (David Guetta, Rihanna, Sia, Ariana Grande & Whitney Houston) and Poo Bear (Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, Billie Eilish & Mariah Carey). Each judge will not only choose a winner from the shortlist, but will also work with their chosen winner, giving a 30-minute online feedback session.

How does the competition work?

1. Apply To The Competition

Please fill in the form here and accept the competition rules. You will receive an automated response asking you to then send your track to apps@abbeyroad.com.

2. Submit Your Track

Once you've submitted the form, send a recording of a new song originally written and performed by yourself to apps@abbeyroad.com. Where possible please record your song using the Abbey Road app Topline.

3. Winners Announced

Each judge will choose their own winner based on the criteria of originality, invention and artistic values of the submitted song. Each of the four winners will win a 30-minute feedback session via online video conference, organised and provided by Abbey Road.

Who are the judges?

Abbey Road’s Head of Digital, Dom Dronska, who developed Topline says: “We hear from our fellow musicians and songwriters how they miss the studios and having close contact with their fellow artists. While we can’t give them access to our studios just yet, we can share an online space, where they can capture their songs without equipment, and they can share them easily with us, with their producers or topliners. We want to give them a reason to write and offer inspiration from some prolific songwriters connected to us, creating a big songwriting momentum. Let’s hear some new songs which can pull us through the most difficult times, with lyrics which fade into our dreams, helping us to accept life as it is.”

Abbey Road’s Head of Brand & Communications, Mark Robertson says: “We want to be a source of inspiration and support to all creatives navigating this unsettling time, and this competition exemplifies the spirit of collaboration that we see in the house when we are open. Nile’s songwriting at Abbey Road is symbolic of how we are transforming the studios. He’s written over 100 songs with artists including Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, SG Lewis, David Guetta, Jorja Smith and Rudimental. His unparalleled body of work and expertise as a producer mean there couldn’t be a better person to guide and lead this competition. Thanks to his manager Merck Mercuriadis, we have three more of the biggest writers in the world as mentors in the shape of Poo Bear, Giorgio Tuinfort and Jamie Scott, making this an unmissable chance to learn from the best.”